Categories: Lifestyle

How To Get Yourself To Hit The Gym

So you’ve decided to join a gym. Congratulations on taking control of your health! Experts agree that we need at least a half an hour of exercise every day. No matter how healthy your eating habits are, you’ll still need to get a workout once in a while if you’re going to be truly fit!

To that end, joining a gym is a great idea. But there are a lot of gyms out there, including specialty gyms, gyms that cater to beginners, and gyms that are favorites of serious bodybuilders. There are gyms for specific sports, too–take it from the trainers at The Arena, who run one! Their combat sports gym is just one example of how specific gyms can be.

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All About YOU

So the first question you’ll want to ask yourself is this: what do you want to do at the gym? You don’t have to know the ins and outs of every workout or how it might affect your body to have a general sense of what you’re hoping to do. You know whether or not you want to be a boxer, for instance, and you probably have a sense of whether you want to spend most of your time on cardio workouts (running, cross-training, etc.) or on muscle building. And you may know already whether you’d prefer to use free weights, machines, or both.

Research The Gym You Are Interested In

With this in mind, you could begin to look at gyms and research their reputations. You could also ask friends with similar goals which gyms they frequent. Gyms like Gold’s Gym are known for free weights and heavy lifting (though they aren’t limited to that); on the other end of the spectrum are gyms like Planet Fitness, which focus on machines and offer beginners a comfortable atmosphere and low prices.

Once you have an idea of what you want, check out a gym–or, better yet, check out several! Many gyms offer free trial periods that make it easy to compare and contrast their offerings.

Are you a college student or a staff member? Universities can offer students some great workout options, and you may have access to some that are included in your tuition.

Figuring Out A Routine

Once you’ve chosen a gym, getting a great workout isn’t too tough. Just make sure that you go to the gym regularly–three times a week is a good goal–and do a variety of workouts. If weight loss is the goal, cardio is king, so don’t neglect the treadmill. Building muscle will mean lifting weights–for more specific advice on that, you can rely on the great bodybuilding resources available online. Good luck!

If you are interested in even more fitness-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels then we have a lot to choose from.